We need the truth

By Russell Shaw|
For the Catholic Herald

9/05/18

Statements by Pope Francis and American bishops reacting to the
church’s sex abuse scandal suggest they are serious about getting to the roots
of what happened and doing something meaningful about it. That includes the
case of Archbishop Theodore McCarrick as well as 1,000 old, but for the most
part, previously unreported abuse cases in six Pennsylvania dioceses.

The expressions of concern by church leaders are welcome. But
talk is one thing, action another. And action is what this spiraling crisis now
requires.

But whether it takes that form or some other, an in-depth
investigation is needed, now more than ever, in light of the claim by
Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò, former apostolic nuncio in the United States,
that top people in the Vatican knew of the complaints about ex-Cardinal McCarrick
as early as 2000 and he personally told Pope Francis five years ago. Yet Archbishop
McCarrick continued as an influential adviser of the pope until last June, when
the New York archdiocese said it had found credible a complaint that he groped
an altar boy nearly half a century ago.

These charges are part of a lengthy document by Archbishop Viganò
containing enough derogatory allegations about top-level church figures in the
U.S. and Rome to keep investigators busy a long time.

And leaving Archbishop Viganò allegations aside, any serious
investigation must examine the charge by Madison Bishop Robert Morlino that a
“homosexual subculture within the hierarchy” is the source of many of the
problems now vexing the church.

In tackling these sensitive matters, the investigation must
refrain from scapegoating or profiling gays. But it also needs to steer clear
of the head-in-the-sand political correctness, already emanating from some
sources, that would deny the very possibility of a serious gay problem.

Several specific conditions must be met in structuring the
investigation.

One is that laity be involved at every stage and in all aspects
of its planning and execution. When Cardinal DiNardo speaks of the “expertise”
of lay people in “investigation, law enforcement, psychology, and other
relevant disciplines” his point is well taken. If, however, this means
involving lay people only as expert consultants and no more, that won’t wash.
Lay people should be full members of the investigating body itself.

This shouldn’t be a project of, by and for bishops. The whole church
has been hurt by what has happened in recent weeks, and the whole church should
have a say in what is done to set things right. That requires a fundamental
reorientation of the bishops’ customary way of thinking — a shift from seeing
the laity as “our people” to accepting them as “our partners.” If bishops are
hesitant to partner with the laity in an undertaking of utmost importance to
the welfare of the church, they need to put aside their hesitation and make the
great leap.

It hardly needs saying that transparency and accountability
should be integral elements of this exercise in truth-telling. Old habits of
self-serving secrecy in the conduct of church affairs are part of the
explanation of how we got into the present mess, and more secrecy now would
simply not be acceptable. Self-serving secrecy is always an obstacle to the
truthfulness and accountability essential to building and sustaining community
in the church. And above all in this time of scandal and crisis, we need the
truth.

Shaw is a freelance writer from Washington and author of American Church: The
Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall, and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America.